Study finds California's young people giving up cars, driving less

Though he's got a lot of places to be in his busy life, driving is just not on the radar for Napa Valley College student Alix Shantz.

Rather than own a car Shantz, 24, said he uses public transportation, gets rides from his girlfriend, or walks.

He mirrors the findings of a new national study that finds younger Americans are driving far less than their predecessors.

The report, "Transportation and the New Generation, released by CalPIRG Education Fund, analyzed several national studies to reach its conclusion.

The document concludes younger drivers favor alternative transportation methods -- a trend which could be a driving factor in land-use, community and transportation planning and expenditures, CalPIRG Consumer Advocate Jon Fox said.

The tough economy and similar factors contribute to the change, but Fox said the agency noticed the trend starting in 2005. This was well before the recession hit the country, forcing many people to abandon their driving habits to save money.

Overall fewer people are driving, the report found.

As part of the overall trend, from 2004-2011, the number of miles driven per capita declined 6 percent, with younger people leading the way away from motor vehicles toward public transportation, according to the report.

Indeed, the average number of vehicles driven by youth, aged 16 to 34, dropped 23 percent -- from 10,300 miles to 7,000 miles per capita.

And the trend away from driving is likely to be long-lasting, even after the economy recovers, as youth embrace lifestyles and settings which do not rely on cars, Fox said.

Chief among reasons for young people ditching their cars are higher gas prices, new licensing laws, technological improvements and changing values and preferences, such as saving the environment.

Other factors include the time, expense and difficulty of getting a license, maintaining a car and finding places to park.

That doesn't surprise Shantz. "There is a greater consciousness within my generation about the environment and the impacts of our activities on it," he said.

But not everyone has gotten off the car bandwagon.

Solano Community College student Chad Standfill, 21, of Vacaville couldn't wait to buy his own car at age 16, and said he drives himself everywhere.

He said he is stumped by the large number of his young peers who don't drive.

"It's a shocker. Not only are there young kids who don't want to drive I have one friend I pick up and drop off for school and he's 35 and he doesn't drive," Standfill said. "He says it's too scary."

Former Benicia resident Matt Donahue, 23, now a San Francisco resident, said most of his friends don't have cars because they live in the city. The same was true when he went to school in Washington, D.C., he said.

"There's no need in the city for going around in a car," Donahue said. However, he said he owns a vehicle because of his need to travel throughout the Bay Area.

Donahue said loss of driver education courses in high schools could be one reason why many youth don't drive.

But the study found a lot of young people just don't want to. According to a recent surveys by two different firms, 45 percent of young people (18-34 years old) polled said they would rather find other transit methods.

The report emphasized an increase in bicycle ridership, walking and public transit use while also an big boost in the number of young adults, aged 14 to 34, without drivers' licensees.

That figure reached 26 percent in 2010, up from 21 percent in 2000.

Likewise, many young people are drawn to urban areas where they can easily walk, bike and take public transportation.

Technological advances, including Internet social networking, smart phones and other advances has also made it easier to car-share, and find alternative transportation methods.